Cabinet of Großgermania
:The title of this article contains the character 'ß'. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as '''Cabinet of Grossgermania'.'' The Imperial Cabinet of Greater Germania ( : Reichskabinett der Großgermania) is the body formed by the various appointments of the Emperor of Großgermania, to include the Ministerpräsident. Forming the majority of the membership of the Imperial Council, only the Emperor himself and various special appointments may be members of that body without first being ministers, and all cabinet members are automatically members of the Imperial Council. The various ministers are responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Imperial Government of Großgermania. The Constitution of Großgermania makes no direct references to the cabinet or its members; the only specific appointment enumerated therein, aside from the Emperor and the Ministerpräsident, is a non-ministerial position: the Greffier, charged with the management of , , and (in practice) the administration of elections and maintenance of government registries, holds an office which is in practice part of the Interior Ministry. Despite this, the Greffier, currently Sigismund van Aalten, has since the formation of the Imperial Council been a special appointment to that body, effectively (if not officially) making it a cabinet-level position. An Imperial Treasury is also established, and by tradition, the Minister of the Treasury is a cabinet member, though this has no official protection under the Constitution. As such, cabinet appointments are an informal part of the Imperial Government's framework and function entirely under Imperial direction and at the Emperor's leisure. As there are no official regulations on the appointment of cabinet ministers, the Emperor may appoint any person to a ministerial position. In practice, however, the majority of ministerial appointments are or were Reichstag members, usually holding prominence in the National Unionist Party of Großgermania. Ministers may be appointed at any time, and have no fixed terms. As such, Reichstag members appointed to ministerial positions may retain such positions after their terms in the Reichstag have expired. One example of such an appointment is Foreign Minister Lena Schiffer, who was appointed to her position 2 April 2009 while serving as a Reichstag member and remained in her position following the 2010 general election, in which she was ineligible to stand for election. Cabinet members are individually responsible for their own , and may establish and disestablish such offices and councils within their own ministries so as to effectively manage the portfolio of their ministry. The only exception to this is the Office of the Greffier, which, as stated above, is Constitutionally-protected. List of Ministries The following is a list of portfolios currently held by members of the Großgermanian cabinet, listed in the order of precedence for temporary succession to the Throne of Großgermania upon the incapacity, death, resignation, or impeachment of the current Emperor until the election of a new Emperor by the Reichstag. While many regional and provincial cabinets include many of the same posts, there are no Imperial regulations on their formation, and therefore they all vary slightly from the model used at the Imperial level. Office of the Prime Minister The Ministerpräsident is Großgermania's . Responsible primarily for the oversight of Reichstag sessions, he also holds the Throne of Großgermania in regency when the Emperor is unable to execute the duties of that office. During the 2009 coup d'état, the Ministerpräsident also held the throne of Germany in regency whilst Michael von Preußen was in exile in Italy. The current Ministerpräsident is Horst Köhler. Foreign Ministry The Reichsaußenministerium (Imperial Foreign Ministry) is the ministry responsible for the establishment and maintenance of with other . Currently, the Foreign Ministry maintains forty-four diplomatic missions in foreign states, and has been directly responsible for Großgermania's establishment of military alliances with other states. By custom, the Foreign Minister—currently Lena Schiffer—is considered the top-ranking cabinet minister besides the Ministerpräsident, and is often consulted separately from the Imperial Council by the Emperor before the announcement of government policies. Interior Ministry The Reichsinnenministerium (Imperial Interior Ministry) is responsible for the administration of Großgermania's immigration and citizenship laws, the organization of its elections, the maintenance of national registries (including the conducting of censuses), and the provision of . In addition to this, the Ministry has the mandate to oversee the and Imperial forces, as well as for setting recommendations for sentences for which do not have a sentence mandated by law. The largest office within the Interior Ministry is the Office of the Greffier, responsible for the majority of the Ministry's mandate. The current Interior Minister is Wolfgang Preußler. Ministry of the Environment The Reichsministerium des Umwelt (Imperial Ministry of the Environment) is responsible for establishing the of Großgermania, including providing for the and of the Empire's . The Ministry has the mandate of enforcing existing environmental protection laws, as well as recommending amendments to such laws to the Emperor or, when appropriate, the drafting of new environmental legislation to replace existing laws. In addition to this, the Ministry is responsible for performing meteorological studies aimed at the production and publication of accurate weather forecasts within the Empire. Since the Berlin Summit in April 2010, the Ministry has been tasked with working with other government ministries to ensure Großgermanian compliance with the terms of the Berlin Treaty. The current Minister of the Environment is Adelinda Schmidt. Ministry for National Unity and Großgermanian Heritage The Reichsministerium für Nationaleinheit und Germanischen Erbe (Imperial Ministry for National Unity and Großgermanian Heritage) is charged with promoting cooperation amongst the diverse populations and governments of Großgermania, usually (but not always) amongst the regional governments. The Ministry is also responsible for promotion of and research into the and of the Großgermanian peoples, as well as funding and other regulations regarding Großgermania's arts, culture, communications (including maintaining the national domain name registry), and sport. The current Minister for National Unity and Großgermanian Heritage is . Imperial Treasury The Reichsschatzamt (Imperial Treasury) is the only cabinet-level office aside from that of the Ministerpräsident which is established by the Constitution. Unlike the other cabinet portfolios, however, the Treasury works primarily under the Witenagemot, and the Emperor has very little input into the drafting of Treasury policy. The mandate of the Treasury is specified in Articles 35 through 39 of the Constitution, which charge it with promotion of the economic and financial welfare of the people, management of and the exchange rate of the Großgermanian Reichsmark, design and issue of reichsmark notes and coins, and the implementation of centralized economic policies developed for equal wealth sharing. Under the national economic plan for Gross National Happiness announced in a speech by Emperor Michael von Preußen 6 November 2009, the Treasury has been working with the Witenagemot in attempts to use the economy as a means to further the overall growth and development of the Großgermanian populace. A nationwide census planned for July 2010 has an attachment reserved for citizens to elaborate on their economic goals and desires for the next decade in order to help further this concept. The current Minister of the Treasury is , having been appointed to the position in January 2009. Ministry of Defense The Reichsministerium der Verteidigung (Imperial Ministry of Defense) is the ministry responsible for the national defense of Großgermania from external and internal threat. The Ministry is in direct control of the Imperial Military of Großgermania, with the exception of the Reichsspezialeinheit, which is directly answerable to the Emperor. The current Minister of Defense is Niklas Böhm. Unlike the other duties of the Emperor, which pass to the Ministerpräsident when the Emperor is unable to execute them, an Imperial decree made following the 2009 coup d'état and ratified by both the Reichstag and the Witenagemot specified that the Emperor's duties as of the Imperial Military would pass jointly to the Minister of Defense and the Commander of the Imperial Military (currently Günter Kehrer) in such circumstances. Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Affairs Criticized by some for having a name reminiscent of a of the , the Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und -fragen (Imperial Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Affairs) is the successor to the 's and . The Ministry is primarily responsible for the implementation of social-based legislation, and works with the Witenagemot to see to the effective management of Großgermania's , , , and systems. In addition to this, the Ministry publishes large numbers of informational pamphlets and other educational material about National Unionism and the Großgermanian political system, and works with the Education Ministry, schools, universities, and other educational institutions to promote the instillation of National Unionist values in Großgermania's youth. Such efforts, while praised by the government and the National Unionist Party of Großgermania as being methods of educating the Großgermanian populace about the socioeconomic model of Großgermania, have fallen under criticism by opposition politicians and international observers as being . The current Minister for Public Enlightenment and Affairs is Ulrich Leesmann. Education Ministry The Reichsbildungsministerium (Imperial Education Ministry) is responsible for management of Großgermania's education system. Unlike the former and education systems, the Großgermanian education system is regulated on the Imperial level, granting the Ministry more power than its . The Ministry is responsible for defining general and for negotiating education funding with the Witenagemot an the Imperial Treasury. An extensive overhaul of the empire's education system occurred in 2009 under the Ministry's guidance, and is sometimes dubbed the "Köhler Revolution" after Education Minister and former , the only member of the Imperial Cabinet who is not an NUPG member. Ministry for Health and Food Safety The Reichsministerium für Gesundheit und Lebensmittelsicherheit (Imperial Ministry for Health and Food Safety) is the ministry responsible for maintaining Großgermania's public healthcare system, the Germanischen Gesundheitssystem; setting and maintaining safety standards and regulations; as well as setting regulations. The Ministry issues public warnings involving possibly dangerous pharmaceutical and food products, and may issue compulsory of such products. The current Minister for Health and Food Safety is Juliane Götz. Public Works Development Ministry As its name implies, the Reichsarbeitsbeschaffungentwicklungministerium (Imperial Public Works Development Ministry) is responsible for the development of and within Großgermania. Working closely with both the Witenagemot and the Ministry for National Unity, the Ministry is responsible for developing and maintaining and infrastructure, including public facilities, , , , , and other . The Ministry is also responsible for Germanialuft, the Empire's national airline and . The current Public Works Development Minister is Paul Gottlieb. Consumer Protection Ministry The Reichsverbraucherschutzministerium (Imperial Consumer Protection Ministry) is responsible for all aspects of which are not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry for Health and Food Safety. Product set by the Ministry, which also inspects products for violations of these standards. The Ministry also works closely with the Witenagemot to ensure enforcement of consumer protection regulations set for service industries. The current Consumer Protection Minister is Sebastian Jaeger. Witenagemot Liaison Officer The Reichsverbindungsoffizier bei der Witenagemot (Imperial Liaison Officer to the Witenagemot) is a member of the Cabinet tasked with facilitating communication with the Witenagemot by the Emperor and his Imperial Council. The Liaison Officer or an appointee thereof attends all public Witenagemot sessions and Imperial Council meetings, and reports to both bodies about actions taken by the other which may affect either the political or economic landscape and therefore require the approval of both the Witenagemot and the Emperor (should the Reichstag choose to challenge a Witenagemot policy). The Liaison Officer is also tasked with establishing between the two bodies. The current Witenagemot Liaison Officer is Hans-Peter Kunz-Hallstein. Category:Government and Politics of Großgermania Category:National executives